French Guiana

In international negotiations, especially on biodiversity, local ecological knowledge has been often limited to issues relating to indigenousness. Based on the concepts of heritage and the terroir, approaches have been developed in France, thus making it possible to better understand, conserve and exploit ecological knowledge and associated biodiversity.

Las áreas protegidas constituyen un elemento fundamental de las estrategias de conservación de la biodiversidad, la geodiversidad y el paisaje. En Francia, las áreas protegidas ocupan en la actualidad cerca del 20% del área terrestre y movilizan a numerosos actores institucionales. La presente publicación pretende dar a conocer el sistema francés de áreas protegidas.

Protected areas are an essential part of biodiversity, geodiversity and landscape conservation strategies. In France, protected areas cover nearly 20% of land area and involve numerous stakeholders. This publication describes the French system of protected areas. We hope it will help the reader better understand the essential contribution of these mechanisms to the protection of France's natural heritage, land management and, more broadly, sustainable development.